Packaging and distributing box, stocking dispenser or the like



Dec. 6, 1966 v B. BJORKLUND 3,239,333 PACKAGING AND DISTRIBUTING BOX, STOCKING DISPENSER OR THE LIKE Filed March 8, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig] Dec. 6, 1966 B. BJDRKLUND 3,289,833

PACKAGING AND DISTRIBUTING BOX, STOCKING DISPENSER OR THE LIKE Filed March 8, 1965 4 SheetsSheet 2 Dec. 6, 1966 B. BJORKLUND 3,289,333

PACKAGING AND DISTRIBUTING BOX, STOCKING DISPENSER OR THE LIKE Filed March 8, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Dec. 6, 1966 B. BJGRKLUND 3,289,883

PACKAGING AND DISTRIBUTING BOX, STOCKING DISPENSER OR THE LIKE Filed March 8, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 United States Patent Office Patented Dec. 6, 1966 7 3,289,883 PACKAGING AND DISTRIBUTING BOX, STOCKING DISPENSER OR THE LIKE Bjorn Bjiirklund, Bjarred, near Malmo, Sweden, assignor to Aktiebolaget Malmo Strumpfabrik, Malmo, Sweden Filed Mar. 8, 1965, Ser. No. 437,651 Claims priority, application Sweden, Mar. 11, 1964, 3,009/ 64 4 Claims. (Cl. 22148) The present invention relates to a stocking dispenser or the like, intended as a packaging and distributing box for, in particular, ladies stockings and other fine textile articles.

Packaging and distributing boxes for ladies stockings, in which the stockings are laid folded upon each other, are known, whereby one end of each overlying stocking, e.g. the toe, is secured by the opposite end of the preceding stocking, e.g. the stocking-top, by means of a label or a piece of adhesive tape while the unengaged end of the uppermost stocking projects through an elongated slot in the center of a box-lid.

It is possible, with such a dispenser, to draw out one stocking at a time, so that the end of the stocking lying under the stocking being withdrawn, follows the withdrawn stocking out through the opening and, subsequent to the removal of the label or the adhesive tape, is also ready for removal.

This known device is encumbered, firstly with the disadvantage that packing takes a long time, due to the fact that the ends of the stockings must be stuck together, and secondly the risk exists of the stockings being damaged when drawn through the opening in the center of the boxlid, so that the stockings have to be wrapped in tissue paper in order to reduce this risk.

Furthermore, dispensing boxes for ladies stockings are known in which each of the stockings is mutually folded on top of another instead of being fastened together in the box. The stockings are provided with a withdrawal flap made of cardboard, which is passed out through an elongated slot in the center of the side of the box.

Dispenser packages of this type are also encumbered with similar disadvantages to the type first described above. The present invention concerns itself with elirninating the above mentioned disadvantages mainly by a distributing arrangement which includes a relatively flat box of the tray and cover type having a dispensing slot arranged along the top of the front side edge of the tray in immediate connection with the plane of the cover. The stockings are conveniently laid folded upon each other so that one end of a stocking, e.g. the stocking-top is folded with the opposite end of the underlying stocking, e.g. the toe, whereby when the overlying stocking is withdrawn through the slot, the folded end of the underlying stocking etc. is withdrawn through said slot. When folding the stockings during the packing operation it is advantageous in each particular case to pass the toe of the underlying stocking a little way into the top of the overlying stocking.

According to a further development the opening of the dispenser box is manufactured without sharp edges, in so much as one side coincides with the inner plane of the box-lid while the opposite side is formed by a relatively wide smooth surface constituting the upper restricting side on the foremost rigid wall of the dispensing box, this wall having rectangular cross section. This wall can be lower than the remaining side walls of the box, so that a wide slot is, or can be, obtained.

If the dispensing box is made of cardboard or plastic, it is more suitable to double the material for the lid, thereby making it rigid, so that a well defined dispensing slot is obtained. At least the restricting surfaces of the dispensing slot should be made smooth and also possibly glued or covered with glazed paper, plastic or the like.

The dispensing box is suitably made of one piece of cardboard or plastic, the length of which corresponds to the sum of twice the depth of the lid, the depth of the bottom, the height of the rear side walls and also twice the height of the foremost, rectangular in section, side wall plus its depth, while the width of the piece of cardboard or plastic corresponds to the width of the bottom or the lid-Which is suitably equal to the length of the slot-but in connection with the side edges of the bottom surface has abutment surfaces for forming double side walls of the box, and in connection with the side edges of the lid-surface is provided with abutment side surfaces intended for forming the side locking flaps of the lid which are capable of being folded around the side walls of the box.

The piece of cardboard or plastic is, in a manner known per se, prepared for bending, along the corners and edges of the box, by means of bending lines made along the edges of the intended box.

The lid of the folded dispensing box is held by the folded side locking flaps in the closed position, while its front edge, formed by folding both lid surfaces of the blank, lacks side flaps and thus forms the dispensing slot. The inner side of the lid is also smooth. The lid is held in the closed position by means of the side locking flaps which engage in the pockets in the lower side edges of the dispensing box.

The side walls of the dispensing box are also conveniently stiffened, by virtue of the fact that they are formed by the folded side flaps of the folded blank, which in a suitable way, e.g. by means of locking flaps, are anchored to the bottom of the box.

The invention will now be further described in connection with the attached drawings in which FIG. 1 shows a cardboard blank intended for a dispensing box according to the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a dispensing box, according to the invention, substantially erected but with the lid open and with one side wall in an unfolded condition.

FIG. 3 presents the finished dispensing box. 7

FIGS. 47' present the dispensing box, having ladies stockings folded and inserted into the same.

FIG. 8 presents the dispensing box with the top of a withdrawn first stocking outside the same, and also the toe of a second stocking projecting from the slot of the dispensing box and FIG. 9 presents a diagrammatic View of the pile of folded stockings.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the dispensing box blank according to the present invention may conveniently be manufactured from one piece of cardboard or plastic. Its length corresponds to the sum of twice the depth of the lid 1the lid is formed by folding the sections In and 1b so that a double thickness of the same is obtained-the depth of the bottom 2, the height of the rear side wall 3 and also twice the height of the front side wall 4, seen in rectangular sectionsaid side wall comprising of the sections 4:: and 4b and also the upper side restricting surfaces 5 of the wall-and also its depth. The width of the piece of cardboard or plastic corresponds to the width of the bottom 2 or the lid 1, which is suitably equal to the length of the dispensing slot, but in connection with the side edges of the bottom surface, has.abutrnent surfaces 6a and 6b for forming the double side walls of the box, and in connection with the side edges of the lidsurface is provided with abutment side surfaces 7:: and 7b intended for forming the side locking flaps 8a and 8b of the lid, and these flaps are capable of being folded around the side walls of the box. These flaps are also intended to engage in retaining slots 9a and 9b which are included in the side edges of the bottom surface. A positive retention of the fiaps'is obtained by means of the notches in the side locking flaps.

In addition to the edge lines in the complete boxthe box blank is also provided with fold lines shown by means of dotted lines in FIG. 1.

The box is folded in the following manner: first the front side wall 4 of the box is folded up and then folded along the folding lines parallel to the bottom of the box so that a front wall having rectangular section and with an upper abutment surface 5 is obtained. The side flaps 11a and 11b are then folded down onto said restricting wall and afterwards folded around, firstly the side flaps 12a and 12b and then 13:: and 13b at right angles to the front side wall. The lid is then folded so that a double thickness of the same is obtained. Then rear side wall is folded together with the lid at right angles to the bottom of the surface. Since the side flaps 14a and 14b on the rear side wall are bent in at right angles to the rear side wall the side flaps 6a and 6b, which form both the end side walls of the box, can be folded up around the flaps 12a, 12b, 13a, 13b, 14a, 14b and thereafter folded over at their upper edge, so that the side walls are doubled. An outer folding strip 15a, 15b on the side flap 6a, 6b thereby lies against the bottom surface of the box and can be passed in under locking pockets 16a, 16b projecting from the bottom of the box. Finally it only remains to fold the lid about the upper edge. of the side wall, to bend the side locking flaps 7a and 7b and also to insert locking portions 8a and 8b attached to said locking flaps, into corresponding openings 9a, 9b in the under edges of the bottom, wherein the box is complete.

FIG. 2 shows the box during the assembly procedure when the front side wall of the box is almost complete, one of its end side walls and the rear side wall is completely folded, while the opposite end side wall still requires assembly.

The box is shown in FIG. 3 completely assembled and a slot 17 over the front side wall of the box and in immediate connection with the lower restricting surface of the lid is clearly illustrated.

The box in FIGS. 4 and 5 and also FIGS. 6 and 7 has merely been shown by means of phantom lines, in order to clearly indicate how the stockings are folded and laid upon each other. In FIGS. 4 and 5 the stockings are packed so that an upper stocking 18 with its foot section 19 is inserted into the top 20 of the underlying stocking thereby causing the top of the stocking 20 to follow when the stocking 18 is withdrawn through the slot 17, as can be seen from FIG. 5.

The box shown in the example is arranged for four stockings, i.e. two pairs of stockings mutually held together in the manner just described. The positions of the stockings may be changed as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, allowing the top 20 of the overlying stocking 18 to be passed over the toe section 19 of the underlying stocking 21. When the dispensing box is packed, the toe 19 of the first overlying stocking 18 protrudes out through the slot 17 of the dispensing box, as is to be seen from FIG. 6. FIG. 7 shows the position where the top of the first stocking has just been drawn to the slot 17, while in FIG. 8 the first stocking 18 has already been separated from the toe section 19 of the following stocking 21.

FIG. 9 illustrates diagrammatically in section how the ends of the stockings are folded into each other according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8.

In FIGS. 6 and 7 it is imagined that a dispensing box has been packed with six stockings, that is three pairs.

Although the invention has been described in connection with an embodiment of the same, it can, however, in an arbitrary manner be varied within the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. A foldable dispensing box for ladies hosiery or like interleaved articles comprising; a blank folded to provide a walled tray and hinged cover, the front side wall of the tray being of hollow section and the hinged cover being folded to provide a double thickness relatively rigid cover, the cover including side flaps for locking the cover to the tray with the cover in closed condition, the closed cover and front side wall of the tray defining a smooth edge dispensing opening over the top of the front side wall and beneath the surface of the front edge of the cover, and a plurality of layers of stockings, the top stocking having one end detachably attached to an opposite end of the next lower stocking in the layer, so that removal of the top stocking by drawing it out through the dispensing opening will draw the next lower attached stocking from the dispensing opening.

2. A box as defined in claim 1 wherein the height of the hollow section front'side wall is less than the height of the other side walls of the tray so that a wide dispensing opening is provided.

3. A box as defined in claim 1 wherein the end side walls of the tray are of double thickness.

4. A box as in claim 1 wherein the tray bottom includes pocket slots for holding the cover side flaps.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1942 Ross 221-50 6/1965 McCarthy et al. 22l-48 

1. A FOLDABLE DISPENSING BOX FOR LADIES HOSIERY OR LIKE INTERLEAVED ARTICLES COMPRISING; A BLANK FOLDED TO PROVIDE A WALLED TRAY AND HINGED COVER, THE FRONT SIDE WALL OF THE TRAY BEING OF HOLLOW SECTION AND THE HINGED COVER BEING FOLDED TO PROVIDE A DOUBLE THICKNESS RELATIVELY RIGID COVER, THE COVER INCLUDING SIDE FLAPS FOR LOCKING THE COVER TO THE TRAY WITH THE COVER IN CLOSED CONDITION, THE CLOSED COVER AND FRONT SIDE WALL OF THE TRAY DEFINING A SMOOTH EDGE DISPENSING OPENING OVER THE TOP OF THE FRONT SIDE WALL AND BENEATH THE SURFACE OF THE FRONT EDGE OF THE COVER, AND A PLURALITY OF LAYERS OF STOCKINGS, THE TOP STOCKING HAVING ONE END DETACHABLY ATTACHED TO AN OPPOSITE END OF THE NEXT LOWER STOCKING IN THE LAYER, SO THAT REMOVAL OF THE TOP STOCKING BY DRAWING IT OUT THROUGH THE DISPENSING OPENING WILL DRAW THE NEXT LOWER ATTACHED STOCKING FROM THE DISPENSING OPENING. 